Apple pays £92BILLION to app makers as iPhone ‘virtual spending’ skyrockets
APPLE has paid out a staggering £92billion to app makers around the world as our insatiable demand for mobile games and apps grows.
The figure was revealed during an exclusive Apple briefing on Wednesday, highlighting how the tech giant is increasingly relying less on iPhone sales.
Speaking to reporters – including The Sun – Apple's Oliver Schusser said: "The App Store itself is going from strength to strength.
"We've now paid out more than $125billion (£92billion) to developers worldwide.
"I'm also hugely proud to say $25billion (£15billion) was paid out to European developers.
"The European development scene is very vibrant and strong," Schusser, who heads up Apple Music globally, added.
It turns out that Apple Music is doing quite well, too.
Despite stiff competition from rivals like Spotify and YouTube Music, Apple's fledgling £9.99 music streaming service is now a force to be reckoned with.
"We've passed 50million paid subscribers worldwide," Schusser told us.
"We only launched Apple Music three-and-a-half years ago, and have had incredible success in a short amount of time."
Apple Music is pretty unique in that it relies on human curators to suggest content you might like.
Rival services typically use automated systems, which often struggle to provide the human touch – which is important when it comes to creative services, like a music streaming platform.
Apple's Podcasts have also hit a few milestones, according to Schusser.
He revealed that there are now more than 650,000 podcasts available on Apple Podcasts, which have racked up "more than 50billion downloads and streams" since the service first launched over a decade ago.
It's no surprise that Apple is trying to big up its "services" credentials.
Since the launch of the iPhone XS and iPhone XR last year, rumours have swirled around whether growth of Apple's highly profitable iPhone business is sustainable.
Those rumours became reality after Apple reported its first fall in revenue and profits in 10 years late last month.
Apple chief Tim Cook blamed a combination of weak iPhone sales and a downturn in China for the 4.5% revenue slump.
And revenue from iPhone – which is responsible for most of the firm's profits – fell 15% in the last financial quarter.
Cook vowed to reconsider pricing of iPhone in some countries as a response, which isn't a surprise: the iPhone XS costs between £999 and £1,449, and is the most expensive model to date.
It's hard to keep convincing phone buyers to upgrade to newer models when their old ones work just fine.
So Apple is hoping to get users spending more on services like Apple Music or the App Store to boost its own coffers.
Apple is also reportedly plotting to launch a TV streaming service of its own this year, in a bid to rival Netflix and Amazon Prime.
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Apple fans may have a brand new gadget to look forward to this year – the rumoured iPhone 11.
The handset is tipped to offer reverse wireless charging, powering up other nearby handsets just by touching them.
And Apple is reportedly working on a foldable iPhone, at least according to leaked patent sketches.
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